October 15th is Global Handwashing Day!

This year, the Global Handwashing Day theme focuses on the links between handwashing and food including food hygiene and nutrition. Handwashing is an important part of keeping food safe, preventing diseases, and helping children grow strong. Our tagline, Clean hands a recipe for health, reminds us to make handwashing a part of every meal.

Here are a few ways you can make a difference this Global Handwashing Day:

• Wash your hands with soap at critical times, especially before eating, cooking, or feeding others.
• Model good handwashing behavior, and remind or help others to always wash their hands before eating.
• Make handwashing part of your family meals.
• Establish places to wash your hands in the household, in your community, in schools, workplaces, and in health facilities.
• Promote effective handwashing behavior change in research, policy, programs, and advocacy.

About Global Handwashing Day

Global Handwashing Day is an annual global advocacy day dedicated to advocating for handwashing with soap as an easy, effective, and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.

Global Handwashing Day was founded by the Global Handwashing Partnership and is an opportunity to design, test, and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times. Global Handwashing Day is celebrated every year on October 15th.

The first Global Handwashing Day was held in 2008 when over 120 million children around the world washed their hands with soap in more than 70 countries. Since 2008, community and national leaders have used Global Handwashing Day to spread the word about handwashing, build sinks and tippy taps, and demonstrate the simplicity and value of clean hands. Since then, Global Handwashing Day has continued to grow. Global Handwashing Day is endorsed by governments, schools, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, individuals, and more.

The 2021 Global Handwashing Day theme is “Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together.”